My 12-year old son introduced this musical to me a while back.
The casting of Holden Hagelberger is beyond perfect.
On stage for all but 13 minutes in an almost 2 hour production, no other musical comes to mind which demands so much of its lead, not just in terms of technical competence and artistry but also from his emotional self, and one so young. He brings incredible pluck and authenticity to Trevor.
Some examples in the number "One of these Days": a side glance at Pinky's hand over his shoulder the first time Pinky touches him in a social setting ("a decade and I could be having it all"); his eyes staying longingly on Pinky who looks outwards to sing ("totally see we are meant to be"); a blink and you will miss it flit of the tongue as Pinky gives him a hug ("you're the best, Trevor"). Easily missed by a theatre audience not in the first few rows, it's great the proshot lets you see all these emotive subtleties Hagelberger brings to his Trevor.
I love that Trevor now tearfully joins Diana in "Endless Love", perhaps in a final recompense to having torn down all her posters and thrown away her records. This contrasts sharply with the short film where Trevor's mouthing of those lyrics was depicted as his final moments of joy.
It is perhaps notable that Diana Ross and Pinky are the only two characters who "sing together, with harmonies" with Trevor in a duet. They are also the only ones to have been inside Trevor's literal closet.
Trevor singing his verse a half-step higher than Pinky's in "Horse", and a half-step higher also than Mary's in "The Notebook" - I think this is a lovely artistic choice to highlight Trevor being younger and more impressionable / vulnerable than his male peer and female mean kid. Hagelberger at the time being a mezzo-soprano when the other boys were all bari-tenors or tenors (which itself is great casting timing) maybe might have played a role in this but that's unlikely for just a half-step difference.
The attempted assassination is a brilliant Chekov's Gun -- with an incredibly moving and succinct payoff.
The small patches of rainbow colours on the mean kids are a nice touch.
Trevor tugs at his shirt so often this show could be called "Tug Neverlasting" :)
However, I hate Hate HATE the fact that the plot hangs entirely on Pinky using a non-gendered pronoun in the middle of Act 1 ("I don't think they feel the same", instead of "I don't think she feels the same"). This actually could work as a plot device c.2020, but is anachronistic for 1981.
Thank you to the creatives, the cast, and everyone else who was part of this production, filming and recording.
